A single day remains in the men's soccer regular season, and NESCAC playoff spots are still up for grabs. One thing is certain, though - with a 4-1 blowout of Tufts last Saturday, Williams clinched the top seed, meaning the road to the conference crown will run through Williamstown.
And with that much set in stone, the Jumbos cannot seem to get off their minds a potential rematch with the Ephmen in the NESCAC Tournament, when the stakes are higher.
"We've all been talking about it a lot," junior Rupak Datta said. "It was a tough loss [last week] but we got a lot out of it and we just want to play them in the NESCAC tournament."
In addition to Williams, which owns an unblemished 8-0 NESCAC record and has outscored its opponents 28-4, Bowdoin, Tufts and Amherst have all clinched spots for the seven-team tournament. Wesleyan, Bates, and Trinity will fight on Saturday for a chance to occupy the final two spots in the tournament's first round on Sunday.
In conference play this weekend, the Jumbos host Connecticut College, a team standing at 0-8 in the NESCAC, having been outscored 23-3 in league games. Tufts had won its previous three NESCAC games, sweeping Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Trinity in one whirlwind week, until Williams upended the team 4-1 on Saturday. The Ephmen scored three first half goals and never looked back, ending the Jumbos' five-game winning streak and perfect October.
Against Conn. College, Tufts must try to recapture some of the momentum lost after last Saturday's thumping. The Jumbos entered play last week with a national ranking of #23, the team's first appearance on the national radar this season. They were also ranked third in New England.
"All I can say a victory would best help our chances of getting an at large bid NCAA bid, and help our chances in the NESCAC tournament," Datta said.
And an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, a milestone not achieved by a Tufts team since 1994, seems to be the treasure on which the Jumbos' eyes are set. "It would be great," senior tri-captain Brad Stitchberry said. "Its kind of what you play for, to go to the big tournament. Hopefully all the players are dreaming about it. To get a chance to go play teams against in different areas, it's definitely in the back of our minds. There is talk in the locker about how it would be really cool."
Tufts takes the field tomorrow tied for fourth place in the conference with Amherst. The Lord Jeffs battle Trinity, a team currently tied with Bates for seventh. Bates, though only 2-4-2 in the NESCAC, should have an easy time with conference bottom-dweller Colby, which has been outscored 16-6 by opponents.
Wesleyan will travel north to Brunswick, ME to take on Bowdoin in an important match-up for both teams. The Cardinals need a win to ensure a playoff berth, while Bowdoin could drop from third to fifth place with a loss. Williams will be at Middlebury in a clash of the league's two top-rated teams. Middlebury is 5-1-2 in the NESCAC, and a Panthers loss, coupled with a Bowdoin win, would give the Polar Bears the second seed.
It should be a wild Saturday, with several teams' destinies still in the air. If the playoffs did start today, however, Tufts would battle Amherst, Middlebury would play Bates, Bowdoin would play Wesleyan, and Williams would earn a much-deserved bye, awaiting the winner of the #4 vs. #5 game.
